Community college pitfall causes higher ed dead end

9:59 PM,
Dec. 21, 2013

Written by

Susan Bickerstaff and Maggie Fay

Last fall, with SAT and ACT scores boosted by countless hours worth of test prep, tens of thousands of students began their careers at highly selective colleges and universities.

And last fall, millions of incoming community college students were relegated to non-credit remedial courses. Many will remain in remediation for as long as two years, spending tuition on courses that don't count towards a degree. Large numbers will drop out before taking a real college class. Only about a quarter will go on to earn any kind of degree.